Trowers & Hamlins has one of the largest disputes practices in Birmingham, handling high-end, complex and often cross-border matters for clients across all types of contentious work, with specialisms in commercial litigation, civil fraud and investigations, property litigation and construction disputes.
Our Midlands practice is deeply connected into our wider business, with a significant proportion of our work originating from our international offices across Malaysia and the Middle East, and our strategic partnership with Interlaw – an elite global network of over 7,000 first-class lawyers in 150 cities worldwide.
We act on a wide range of commercial disputes, with key strengths in international, particularly Middle East-related work, heavyweight commercial matters and disputes involving public sector bodies. We are advising the Central Bank of Bahrain bringing claims worth close to £3bn in connection with the AHAB and Saad Group frauds, for example, and we also receive regular mandates from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Our work on disputes emanating from the Middle East includes cases played out in the local courts and arbitral tribunals in that region, as well as in London and other international disputes hubs.
Handling complex high-value matters
Closer to home, our team has had a number of its recent cases in the Commercial Court reported and receives instructions in commercial disputes from both regional and national players. We have a strong record of working with in-house counsel teams in difficult, sensitive and complex claims and investigations.
Trowers has a long history of acting in disputes involving the public sector and continues to be a leader in this field. For example, we are on the panel for the Department of Health, who we advise on various high-value claims.
We are one of the only firms with a team recognised for its civil fraud expertise, where we act for a wide range of public, private and third-sector clients dealing with prevention, investigations and recovery actions across multiple jurisdictions. With deep experience in freezing injunction applications, we also advise on anti-bribery and fraud prevention issues and are increasingly known for significant instructions arising from cyber crime. We support both domestic and international clients dealing with the regulatory and data issues that arise from cyber events and our team regularly speaks at conferences on cyber security and dealing with breaches.
Supporting a broad client base
Our real estate litigation team in the West Midlands has grown considerably in recent years and now stands apart for the breadth of both its work and its client base, covering the full range of City-quality contentious property work in the regional market. Our clients include significant public sector pension funds and investment funds, NHS foundation trusts, West Midlands-based property investors and corporate occupiers, large and small developers, high-net-worth-individual clients, large and small housing associations and care providers, including the West Midlands Metropolitan Authorities Pension Fund, Westminster City Council (investment property), King’s College Hospital, Mainstay Residential, Midland Heart and Citizen Housing Group.
Our construction litigation practice in Birmingham is focused on the development of risk management and dispute avoidance strategies to help clients retain control of projects. When action does become necessary, we guide clients towards the most satisfactory outcome possible, whether that is through adjudication, mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation, expert determination or a more bespoke process. The disputes team is an integral part of our projects and construction department, providing a full service to construction projects on a local, national and international basis. We advise housing associations, NHS trusts, contractors and leisure developers across the Midlands region on a range of significant contentious matters relating to construction aspects of various schemes and projects.
We believe our full-service litigation practice in the Midlands stands apart for its ability to cope with complexity and diversity, and for its national and global reach. We have significant expertise using litigation funders to finance claims ranging from £200,000 to over £100m – we always look at the big picture when supporting clients, pursuing the most effective dispute resolution achievable.
In order to develop our relationships with in-house counsel, we run a breakfast series called Counsel’s Club where we discuss topical issues and share experiences, resulting in valuable collaboration and information sharing.
Key partners
Helen Briant
Partner, commercial litigation
E: hbriant@trowers.com
T: 0121 214 8867
Helen Briant is a partner in Trowers & Hamlins’ commercial litigation practice in Birmingham, specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration. She regularly works with in-house legal teams to resolve substantial commercial disputes. She has particular experience in working for clients in the manufacturing and engineering sector. She also has significant experience dealing with complex and sensitive disputes involving private wealth, investments, trusts and estates, and her work is usually cross-border. Briant’s clients include high-net-worth individuals, business owners, trustees, executors and beneficiaries, and many of the cases that she works on involve fraud and dishonesty.
Yetunde Dania
Partner, property litigation
E: ydania@trowers.com
T: 0121 214 8822
Yetunde Dania specialises in residential landlord and tenant property matters for large and small housing associations, and UK and overseas-based private landlords with property portfolios in the UK. Her work includes contentious and non-contentious issues, such as providing advice and assistance to clients in complex possession and injunction claims, defending counterclaims for disrepair and/or allegations of alleged landlord-related regulatory failures, in both the county and magistrates’ courts, and she provides advice across the very wide spectrum of residential landlord and tenant legislation.
Michael Green
Partner, property litigation
E: mgreen@trowers.com
T: 0121 214 8861
With almost 20 years of real estate litigation experience acting for a range of private and public sector clients, Michael Green joined Trowers & Hamlins’ property litigation team in Birmingham in 2018 with the objective of broadening its practice. He acts for investors, corporate occupiers, developers and public sector bodies, including public sector pension funds and other investment funds. Green’s clients comprise a mix of real estate stakeholders in the Midlands, together with London-based clients. He has particular expertise in complex commercial landlord and tenant disputes, including those arising in the context of large-scale redevelopments.
Mark Kenkre
Partner, commercial litigation
E: mkenkre@trowers.com
T: 0121 214 8863
Mark Kenkre specialises in commercial litigation, arbitration and conducting investigations, with an emphasis on complex and commercially sensitive disputes involving allegations of fraud. He has an interest in technology, cyber crime and cyber security issues, including the development of fraud risks relating to blockchain technology and developments in legal technology, and he is a member of the Commercial Fraud Lawyers Association and the Fraud Advisory Panel.
Guy Willetts
Partner, property litigation
E: gwilletts@trowers.com
T: 0121 214 8845
Guy Willetts has more than 30 years’ experience in the resolution of property disputes, acting for owners or occupiers of all types of commercial property (including shops, offices, warehouses and industrial buildings), investors and developers, local authorities, pension funds, NHS trusts and government agencies. He has been involved in a number of landmark cases and is focused on getting the right result in the most cost-effective manner, which may involve alternative dispute resolution, including self-help remedies, mediation, arbitration or expert determination, with the courts as a last resort.
10 Colmore Row
Birmingham
B3 2QD
Tel: 0121 214 8800
Web: www.trowers.com
